On his third album ‘
Autofiction’, Joel Johnston – the Irish-born, Leeds-based artist behind
Far Caspian – sounds like he’s finally learning to exhale. Not in a dramatic, life-altering way, but with the quiet relief of someone starting to make peace with his own noise.
‘
Ditch’ opens things gently, sparse and patient, eventually building into something bruised but cathartic, a soft jolt of purpose to start the record. It gives way to ‘
First Day’, which picks up the pace and spins sunshine from introspection. There’s a breezy, feel-good charm that feels classic, a distant cousin of Phoenix or The Shins, and it carries across much of the album’s 12 tracks.
This isn’t a project concerned with reinvention. Instead, ‘Autofiction’ leans into the kind of warmth that was abundant in late-00s indie, as though it should be sharing a bill with Mystery Jets, Bombay Bicycle Club et al. The title-track is tender and affectionate, a love song as subtle as it is sincere. Elsewhere, ‘
Window’ and ‘
Lough’ are washed in atmosphere – never too eager to impress, but always quietly effective.
